We had just finished a road trip and were cleaning out the Mirada, when we went to open the door, it wouldn’t open!!
The door wasn’t locked and the handle felt normal, but it wouldn’t open. We were trapped inside.
I tried to take the inside door mechanism off by removing the two screws, but I couldn’t get it off. I didn’t want to force or pry anything (yet) .
NOTE – The inside cover would have come off if I had just pried a little.
After 10-15 minutes, I decided to climb out a window and see if I could open the door from the outside. Same deal, the outside handle pulled normally, but the door wouldn’t open!!
After fiddling with it for a few more minutes, I finally used a screwdriver, and broke the outside handle off of the cover plate. Once the handle was off, I could see the the latch, so I used a pair pf needle nose pliers to pull the latch back. The door swung open.
I removed the broken sliding latch pieces (see photo) and we were able to lock the door using the dead bolt. This worked out until I could get a new latch and install it.
NOTE – If I had removed the inside cover / handle assembly, I could have reached in with needle nose pliers and pulled the latch back without destroying entire assembly. (See photo). However, it really didn’t make a difference as the entire unit would need to be replaced anyway.
PROBLEMS WITH TRIMARK 60-650
After a short “Google” search of “RV door won’t open”; I discovered this was a very common problem with the older Trimark door lock assembly, model # 60-650. I ordered a new replacement from Amazon Model #60-1650, the upgraded replacement that supposedly fixed this problem.
It took about 15 minutes to remove and replace the assembly. I didn’t need to replace the catch that was mounted to the frame as the new latch and dead bolts lined up perfectly.
The new unit operates smoother than the original. We also like the red knobs as they are easier to see.
If you get locked in or out and have the older unit, don’t panic to much, if your inside, you can remove the inner handle assembly to get to the latch. If your outside, you’ll need to pry the handle off (this will break it) to get to the latch.
You can remove the broken latch piece so the door won’t re-latch, then use the deadbolt to lock and hold the door closed while your waiting to replace assembly.